


Catch Your Breath

by grenadines



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Based off of the gay fates conversation, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grenadines/pseuds/grenadines
Summary: Silas and Niles find refuge in an inn after escaping Lord Clement’s castle.Takes place between the B and A support of the Niles/Silas Gay Fates support





	Catch Your Breath

**Author's Note:**

> hey! so I don't write fic all that often, but this came out of a desire to write something even though it was late at night and I was half asleep haha
> 
> I originally wrote the Niles/Silas convo around two years ago for the gay fates hack, but it was only this year when I actually found out how much people liked it. It was incredibly heartening to see and I've been wanting to contribute something to this pair since then. The original B support had a very short scene near the end where Niles and Silas escaped to a nearby village to rest and catch their breath, but in the end it was cut for length. This fic doesn't include that scene, but it was based on it.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“Room for two, please?”

The innkeeper looks up from his chess game and frowns at what he sees: two young men, one carrying the other in his arms, both absolutely drenched from the rain that’s been pouring over the village since midnight. Silas knows they look suspicious, but running all the way back to camp just isn’t an option. His arms already start to tremble from both the cold and exhaustion of carrying Niles all the way here. “Please,” he repeats, desperation creeping into his voice. “Just one room. We’ll be out of your hair when morning comes.”

The innkeeper sighs and rolls his eyes before pulling out a ring of keys from his pocket, carefully taking out one of them. “For two, sixteen gold for the night. Pay before you leave and don’t cause trouble.”

“Thank you, sir.” With both of Silas’ hands occupied, Niles takes the key from the innkeeper.

“Up the stairs, second to last room on the left.” With narrowed eyes, he adds, “My sheets better stay clean while you’re here.”

“Y-Yes sir.” Niles almost coughs up a lung from laughing so hard at the remark. Silas only buries his face into Niles’ hair to hide his embarrassment. At least the gesture makes Niles quiet down again. “Thank you again, sir.”

The climb up the stairs isn’t as difficult as trying to move down a narrow hallway without hurting Niles’ foot, but they make it to the room regardless. “Here, let me down—I’ll unlock it for you,” Niles says. Too tired to argue, Silas carefully lets Niles down onto his good foot, keeping a hand on him to help him balance. Niles inserts the key into the lock and the door opens easily to…

“Two beds.” Niles sighs despaingly. “And I was _so_ hoping for one.” Before Silas can protest, Niles awkwardly hops over to the closest of the two beds, falling backward onto the thin mattress. His foot knocks against the bedpost and a string of curse words escape him. “Mother…. _fucker--_ ”

Silas immediately goes to Niles’ side, dropping to his knees. “Here, let me take a look at it.” Niles doesn’t argue, so Silas starts unlacing Niles’ boots. It pains him to hear Niles in agony, but going too slowly only prolongs it. Inch by inch he pulls off the leather boot, then rolls off two layers of socks before hissing in sympathy at what he sees.

Niles groans again. “That sounds bad. Is it broken?”

“No, just sprained I think.” Silas isn’t a healer, but he’s broken enough bones to know what they look like. The swelling and bruises on Niles’ ankle don’t look too good, though. “I’ve sprained my ankle before, so I think I know what to do.” Silas lifts his chin up to look a Niles, shooting him a reassuring smile. “I’m not a healer, but I’ll do my best.”

No smarmy remarks, no arguments. Niles is silent as Silas carefully wraps the ankle with some gauze he manages to haggle off of a troubadour deep in his cups downstairs. He only watches, which doesn’t help Silas’ nerves. He doesn’t know what he’s doing as is without someone’s eyes on him. “How are you feeling?” Silas asks as he brings his pillow over to Niles’ bed, stacking it on top of Niles’ pillow. “You haven’t said anything for a while. Prop your ankle up on this, please?”

Niles obeys, keeping a hand on his chest as he lays back on the bed and puts his foot on top of the pillows. “...Tired, I guess,” he admits. “Two hours ago I was dreadfully bored because you wouldn’t let me have any fun. And now...” Niles makes a sweeping gesture at their cramped little room, the creaking wood and moth-bitten curtains that surround them. “We’re in this place after just barely escaping with our lives. All in all an absolutely awful day.”

Silas can’t help but laugh, all nerves and no humor. “Well, you aren’t wrong.” He wants to sit on Niles’ bed, at least to be next to him, but his weight would only jostle Niles around when he needs to be kept still. He settles for sitting on his own bed, wincing at how thin the mattress is. So much for a well-earned rest. “Let’s gets some sleep, then. We can figure out how to get back to camp tomorrow.” Just laying down makes Silas keenly aware of just how sleepy he is, exhaustion weighing on him heavily like a thick blanket. With a loud yawn, he final;y closes his eyes. “Good night, Niles.”

“Wait.”

The sudden urgency in Niles’ voice forces Silas’ eyes open again. He sits up, groggy but still alert. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes! You…” Niles’ mouth hangs open, as if he’s struggling with what to say next. “You never asked me if I still had it.”

Silas’ mind comes up blank. “Have what?”

“The ledger.”

The ledger. _The ledger_. He’d barely even thought about it since they lost Clements’ guards. Another nervous laugh escapes Silas’ mouth. “Oh, that.”

“Yes, that.” Niles raises an eyebrow, not angry but curious and only a little frustrated. “You haven’t said anything about it since we found it. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten it now.”

Silas scratches his nose, looking away. “Well…” Now he’s not sure what to say. Everything up until coming to this inn has just been one big blur, less of what he saw and more of what he felt. He remembers the light drizzle of rain that fell on them as soon as they escaped the castle, the harder raindrops that pelted them once they reached the town. He remembers the squish of mud beneath his boots, how terribly his legs and arms ached from running and carrying. He remembers telling himself when he started getting tired that he couldn’t stop for anything, because Niles, who clung to him like a lifeline, needed him to keep going until they were somewhere safe. “Yeah, I guess… once you got hurt, I completely forgot about the ledger.”

Niles looks at Silas with wide, disbelieving eyes. “You weren’t thinking about the ledger?”

“I don’t think I was thinking at all, to be honest.” Silas laughs awkwardly at that. “It’s like—I mean, you were in danger, Niles. You know that, right? I’m not going to care about some book when my friend’s in danger.”

“...I see.” A heavy silence follows. Silas watches curiously as Niles reaches down into his shirt and pulls out a thin leatherbound book, throwing it onto the floor with a wet thud.

Silas gasps. “The ledger!”

“Mildly crumpled and water-damaged, but I’m sure Lord Leo will still be able to make out the important bits.” Niles manages to pick the book again, shaking off the excess water before letting it return to his side. “I did not go through the trouble of spraining my ankle on some rich man’s overpriced rug to _not_ make sure said rich man gets his ass in trouble.” Niles grumbles out the last words, but in that moment Silas could have leaped out of bed and hugged him.

He doesn’t. But still, he gives Niles a stupidly giddy smile, one so wide that his cheeks are already hurting. “Thank you. Niles,” he says. “ _Thank you_. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t have you with me.”

“...Yeah.” Niles returns the smile, softer but no less genuine. “Me neither.”


End file.
